Again, wrong.
He said, and I quote:
He's accusing myself and one other tenant of breaking two freezer drawers.
We didn't however to shut him up we said we'd pay for replacements - however he's decided he wants us to sort it. As he has some piece of crap freezer, I spend 2 days tracing down said drawers and finally get them ordered, £70 out of pocket.
So no admission there.

The chap is young and clearly not up to speed with his rights in respect to his tennancy agreement, hence his offer to replace the shelves as the path of least resistance. But certainly no admission of guilt.
But this is all irrelevant. Because, as I have stated above, He has NO inventory. He could have smashed up the freezer with a lump hammer, and still, the landlord would have no comeback.
Taking pictures means nothing without an inventory signed by both landlord and tennant.
As you said, you're a landlord yourself. Yet you don't seem to know these things!
I'd be happy to get Bert and Ernie to spell it out for you if you still don't understand.